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Cloud Telephony

The right to disconnect & what it means for your business

A professional struggling to disconnect after hours

Last week, two events aligned to compel me to write this. First, I attended a breakfast event and listened to a Microsoft representative evangelise about the AI-enabled future of their platform.  Then, I had a conversation with a national healthcare provider that brought the cost of familiarity into sharp focus. 

It’s natural for organisations to be influenced by what they know, especially regarding technology. For example, decision-makers in organisations whose operations are heavily run on Microsoft often favour Microsoft-based solutions simply because they’re already part of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Internal IT is usually trained and “familiar” with the environment, licences like E5 are already in place, which may make it seem like a safe, cost-efficient, low-friction decision.

But that comfort can mask significant opportunity costs?

Have you experienced or have any thoughts on this?

A familiar path—until it wasn’t

With over 100 clinics nationwide, this organisation was on the verge of locking in Microsoft’s telephony solution. Their rationale? It was “easier” for their IT department; they could leverage their E5 licences, and with native integration with their Microsoft environment, it seemed a given. They were just weeks away from presenting this recommendation to their executive team.

By the end of the meeting, however, the conversation had shifted dramatically.

We walked through a third-party telephony alternative that offered:

  1. Lower cost—nearly half the price they were expecting to pay.
  2. Higher service levels and compliance (PCI DSS),
  3. Better functionality and analytics directly addressed their need for clinical performance insights.
  4. Ease of administration, no IT dependency to make changes or manage users, which means operations have greater control over the employee/customer experience
  5. Fully support Microsoft integration—including Teams interoperability and single sign-on.

What had started as a confident, “we’ve got this covered” stance became a strategic reassessment. Familiarity had nearly led them down a more expensive, higher-maintenance path.

What’s often missing in familiar tech choices

IT departments and operators should first ask: Is this something we should own or just enable? When IT recognises that operations best manage a particular service, it opens the door to more collaborative decisions, empowering frontline teams while reducing unnecessary IT dependencies that are not necessarily core to their department.

This scenario isn’t unique. Familiarity can narrow the scope. When IT and operations co-lead evaluations, they uncover options that better align with business goals, not just existing infrastructure.

Operations can define frontline needs while IT ensures alignment and security. Together, they shift the focus from convenience to impact, leading to more informed, value-based decisions.

When IT and operations partner early, they’re more likely to:

  • Explore a broader range of solutions instead of defaulting to incumbent platforms.
  • Evaluate cost and functionality side-by-side, not in isolation.
  • Identify reporting and compliance gaps before a solution is deployed.
  • Empower business units with platforms that offer self-service capabilities and adaptability.

Taking this approach turns the procurement process into a strategic opportunity, not just a technical project. And it ensures that final recommendations are grounded in value, not just familiarity.

Reframe the question: fit or familiar?

This isn’t about replacing Microsoft or your incumbent platform. It’s about ensuring your decision strategy aligns with your service strategy. Just because the same vendor makes a tool/app doesn’t mean it’s the best fit for how you operate, or what your teams and clients need.

So here’s the real question:
Is your technology stack optimised for capability and future-readiness, or just built around what your IT team already knows?

Before you commit, take a moment to challenge the default. You may find better outcomes—and better value—just outside your comfort zone.

More insights​

A right to disconnect law is expected to come into play in September-October 2024 with the intent of restoring work-life balance.

About the changes

The Fair Work Amendment (Right to Disconnect) Bill 2023 will allow workers to refuse to take unreasonable calls or answer emails for a time when they are unpaid, without facing any repercussions.

The penalty

Breach of this order could result in fines of up to $18,000 without criminal penalties.

Another indirect penalty in this period of low unemployment will be any impact it may have on your organisation’s brand and credibility. This may make it more difficult to hire workers. Industries such as NDIS, not-for-profit, and community housing may be more impacted than other industries as many of them are already experiencing a high level of churn.

Is the the right to disconnect is taking it too far?

Some politicians, employer groups, and corporate leaders are warning that the right to disconnect is taking it too far and would impact the move towards more flexible working and competitiveness.

Others argue that the government imposes itself and that this could be addressed with standard enterprise agreements arranged between employees and employers. Of course, the coalition has vowed to repeal this if elected at the next election, which we can expect within the next 15 months. Peter Dutton said the law was bad for workers and the economy and accused labour of outsourcing its industrial relations policy to the Greens.

Some ideas for managing the new arrangements

Politics aside, and assuming this goes forward, businesses will be faced with at least 12 months of this law in place until the next election and if the coalition wins.

  • Get the work done within contracted hours: you can take measures to ensure calls are made within work hours
  • Have employment contracts include expanded hours: ensure you place a provision in employment agreements for calls outside normal work hours
  • Manage after-hour contact: a simple option for employees is the use of readily available modern telephony technology. I refer to cloud telephony more technically known as Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS)
  • Manage after-hour calls with modern cloud telephony services

Manage after-hour calls with cloud telephony

Using cloud telephony technology from our partners such as RingCentral or 8×8 can enable simple automated or manual call redirection and provide a broad range of options:

  • Call-forwarding at a time of your choice i.e. set your virtual extension to direct all calls to voicemail, a specific extension or group after 5pm
  • Set your regular forwarding schedule for the next week, month or further in the future
  • Play a specific announcement

A better customer and employee experience

This may not necessarily assist your boss who wants to talk to you but it would provide a better experience for any customers or other contacts trying to reach you or your business.

Know how many times you’ve been called after-hours

Get complete visibility and metrics on the number of calls at attempts to reach you and these analytics what help you work with your boss and organisation to come up with ways to better manage the calls.

Call forwarding options within RingCentral, managed directly from your phone.

Wrapping up

The right to disconnect is another challenge for employers and employees to sort out, ideally with the best interests of all at heart.

Why not employ technology to make it a win-win for all parties?